Daily App: PhotosPro will make you think Apple's iOS photo app is outdated

PhotosPro (US$1.99) is a very appealing app that could teach Apple a few lessons. Think of it as a replacement for Apple's Photos app.

It will display your photos in a long list, or let you see what you took on a particular date or within a range of dates. It will show you a map of where your photos were taken, not with a little marker as Apple does, but with the pictures themselves superimposed over the map, which is much more useful.

Even better, PhotosPro lets you create what it calls 'stories' so that you can group photos into a particular event and share them with friends via social networks or email. You can also upload to Flickr or Dropbox.

When you highlight an image, you can see all the EXIF data as well as a representation of where it was shot on a map. The user interface is smooth and attractive. Using the app to explore my photos I completely fell out of love with Apple's Photos. PhotosPro is just simply so powerful it's hard to go back.

Gallery|8 Photos

PhotosPro for iOS

A couple of observations. While the app is powerful, it isn't always obvious how to do things. To send a picture to someone, you hold your finger down to bring up the EXIF data and the sharing menu. To create a story, you hold your finger down on each photo you want to add. It's easy enough to do, but people shouldn't have to explore for the method. I think a quick help screen at startup will go a long way. Also, you can't delete photos. It's an Apple issue.

Even with the little foibles, PhotosPro is one terrific app. It's a natural way to organize and find your photos. You sign up for an account if you want to upload your stories to the web to share. The account is free, and you can send up to 20 photos in a story. The web display is very nice looking, and you can add an attractive title. It's better than Apple's cloud sharing service.

PhotosPro is the kind of app you will use every day. It's reasonably priced, and actually gives you a better way to manage and share your photos. It has my highest recommendation.